Wood Chips & Horses

Today’s horse bedding materials help maintain comfort, warmth and traction within the stall. The cushion proper bedding provides promotes healthy hooves and overall general health. Many horse owners use sawdust and wood shavings to eliminate dust and spores commonly found with straw bedding. Wood bedding materials absorb and reduce stall waste.

  1. Wood Products

    • Many horse owners use sawdust and wood shavings, though fine sawdust is to be avoided due to the risk of respiratory problems. Wood shavings or wood chips enhance a stall’s appearance and, when picked through daily, keep the horse and stall clean. Wood pellets are actually compacted chips which break down into shavings with a light water misting and the horse's weight.

    Soft Wood

    • Soft wood shavings and chips provide about twice the absorbency as hard wood. This extra absorbency increases a soft wood product’s tendency to dry the hooves. When using soft wood bedding products, it may be wise to add moisturizer to the hoof walls, coronary bands and frogs two to three times per week. Cedar contains tannic acid, which leads to cause stomach problems and listlessness.

    Hard Wood

    • Sawmill byproducts containing hardwoods, dust or walnut particles may lead to laminitis, a potentially debilitating or deadly disease. Black walnut in particular puts horses at risk because of the juglone toxin, linked closely to laminitis. Juglone occurs in leaves, roots, bark and wood of walnut trees and is poorly soluble in water. Yellow poplar, red maple and oak affect kidney and liver function, and cause respiratory and skin problems.

    Newborns

    • Wood bedding is not recommended for newborn foals.

      Wood chips and other wood bedding products are likely to adhere to newborn foals, infect mucus membranes and even enter the mare’s reproductive tract during foaling. Fine shavings pose respiratory threats to newborn foals, as a horse’s respiratory system does not handle high dust volumes well.

    Bedding Stalls

    • Highly absorbent wood bedding handles urine better and reduces the ammonia odor. The more absorptive bedding is, the less will be required for proper stall maintenance. The most important factor in selecting wood bedding is the horse’s health. Wet bedding softens hooves and creates a bacterial breeding ground. When picking through stalls, always remove dangerous wood splinters. No matter which bedding material you select, ultimately the mucking method determines the cleanliness of both the horse and the stall.